A house mate of mine loved that show, Antiques Roadshow. I used to tease this house mate by saying it should really be called Old Crap on Parade. It is always a surprise--what things are worth, which things bring in the big dollars, who would pay the perceived worth, how it all changes lives.
HW recently hosted a yard sale.Â We collected Old Crap for a couple weeks. Walked 100 fliers around the neighborhood. Put up signs. Filled the garage with tables of stuff. And then opened for business. All told, we made a bit over $300. Not bad since the bulk of items were a quarter. While this money will pay our rent at the Pilney for a couple weeks, the sale served other purposes. Let me name a few:

We were invited to pare down, clear out, evaluate what we need, exercise generosity.

Wealth was redistributed. Because, truly, there is enough to go around.

We were able to have one-on-one conversations with shoppers. They saw the â€œAll Proceeds Go to Humble Walk...â€ sign on the wall. Some asked questionsâ€”connections were made.

We were able to witness the excitement over finding a treasure. The 80-year-old, shopping for her grandson going off to college (toaster oven). Or for the public health care worker shopping for toys for the waiting room (blocks). Or for the owner of a rat, seeking a home (ferret/rat cage). Or for the parents of young children, seeking good quality clothes (bags and bags of clothes).

I'm writing this from Rudies Coffee Shop on West 7th...just down the way from Joseph's Coat. We brought most of the leftover clothing and toys/books to Joseph's Coat, who in turn give them all away. Â I see Joseph shoppers walking by Rudies window with bags filled with goods we were willing to share.

During worship on Sept 13, we will decide as a community how much of the yard sale money we would like to shareâ€”and who we want to give it to.